Three cautionary storylines to follow for the Blackhawks as the season continues

The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of cautionary storylines to keep an eye on this season. From the development of young forwards to the future draft picks the organization is going to hold there is a lot of uncertainty revolving around this team.

Today we are going to talk about some of those storylines to keep an eye on. In the moment there is little the team can do to change their future and the situation revolving around the team, but depending on how these few things go their offseason and future seasons' success will be determined.

Let's highlight three cautionary storylines to keep an eye on as the season develops for the Blackhawks.

First up, Kirby Dach.

Dach has not done a heck of a lot this season. He has ten points and four goals through his first 26 games of the season. The most fearful stat for the young center has to be his faceoff numbers which are currently at an all time low winning just 32.7 percent of his faceoffs so far this season. The Hawks are going to need their number three overall pick succeed in the future and that starts with winning faceoffs for the team.

Dach is still young. When he came into the league during the 2019-20 season he was the best looking player from the 2019 NHL draft, but now with a little more time to develop there are some players starting to catch up to him like Trevor Zegras who was involved in a heck of a goal a few nights ago.

Dach has been spending time with the two best forwards the Hawks have to offer, Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. If he cannot start scoring goals and produce offense with those two then maybe there is another Dylan Strome situation on the teams hands.

Next up, the Blackhawk captain.

Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the season a few nights ago against the Montreal Canadiens. Getting that first one out of the way is good but it needs to be followed up with more. The Hawks captain looked to be playing the best hockey of his career during the bubble series a few years back, but now it seems like maybe the longtime Hawk is reaching the end of his career.

Toews and the Hawks are missing out offensively. That has to be the most frustrating thing right now. In years past the defense was horrible but the team could still score three of four goals a night, now reaching two goals is starting to seem less and less likely on a nightly basis.

The defense has been there for the team, now it is the offense that needs to pick up the pace. The best way the team is going to accomplish that is by getting their entire top six going goal wise, which involves Jonathan Toews.

Toews has spent time with Kane and Hagel the past few nights, and that grouping probably should not continue. Toews needs some wingers that can compliment him but also not give him all the pressure in the world. In the next few weeks I hope Toews can spend time with DeBrincat and Kubalik or Hagel as I think that group together could be electric.

The Hawks are in roster shuffle mode as they try and spark the offense. If Toews doesn't start scoring more goals there might be changes coming. Which has to be one of the biggest worries for the team.